


LFM: Aurum Vale

by Oricalle



Category: Final Fantasy XIV, Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Implied abusive parent, Meet-Cute, Mild Language, Playing MMOs Together, i ran aurum vale a bunch for this fic, the nichest fic i will ever write, truly i have suffered for my art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25194313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oricalle/pseuds/Oricalle
Summary: Playing Final Fantasy XIV is fun, Laegjarn thinks, but when faced with the terrifying thought of chain-running Aurum Vale, she's forced to recruit a little help.  When the White Mage who joins up turns out to be utterly adorable, suddenly it feels like there's more to look forward to than Tomestones and gear drops.
Relationships: Gunnthrá/Laegjarn (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	LFM: Aurum Vale

Laegjarn Muspelheim: LFM AURUM VALE RUNS  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: Fast runs for Tomes!  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: LF HEALER FOR AURUM VALE RUNS  
Pizza Greg: lol av sux  
Pizza Greg: nobody’s gonna run it  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: Fast runs for Tomes!  
Pizza Greg: XD

With a groan, Laegjarn sank back into her chair, staring at her apartment’s ceiling as she swiveled back and forth. Work had been tedious, the angry messages from her father on her cell phone were becoming difficult to ignore, and now she was being antagonized by a man named “Pizza Greg”.

She’d had better Tuesdays.

Still, there was hope for the evening. Final Fantasy had served as a potent escape in the past, and there was little reason to believe it wouldn’t do so now. The familiar sight of Limsa Lominsa lighting up her computer screen was admittedly already a nice tickle to the nostalgic parts of her brain.

A notification beep announced someone else’s entrance to the Discord call.

“Hey, Pizza Greg’s an asshole.”

Laegjarn stifled a chuckle as she checked the in-game chat window.

Hell Bender: SHUT UP PIZZA GREG  
Pizza Greg: hey

“Calm yourself, Helbindi. Don’t waste your breath on the likes of Pizza Greg.”

“Yeah, yeah.” His gruff voice faded away to crackles as the “pleasant” sound of someone munching on what Laegjarn suspected to be pretzels dominated the airwaves. “How are ya, Laeg?” he asked, through a mouthful of crumbs.

“It’s been a difficult day. I’m looking forward to this.”

Helbindi scoffed. “You’re looking forward to chain running Piss Vale?”

“Aurum Vale is the most efficient dungeon to farm for the Moogle Tomestones in this event. I made a spreadsheet-”

“God, Laeg, more spreadsheets? How the hell are we friends?”

“I do have a spreadsheet explaining that as well.”

A few moments passed without a response, but the sudden frustrated crunching of another mouthful let Laegjarn know she’d won that particular argument. She pulled up the document in question and dragged it over the game window, grimacing again at the frightful mathematics on display.

“Aurum Vale rewards three tomestones per completion. The only other activities that offer more are 24 man raids and the Praetorium. Both of which take up far more time than the Vale, so this will be the fastest route to get our desired tomestones.”

The Tomestone events awarded a special currency for playing through old game content, which could be exchanged for a number of desirable and difficult to earn rewards.

“What are you after, anyway?” Helbindi asked. “Don’t you have all those mounts already?”

Laegjarn let out an oddly sudden cough. “I’ll be playing as the Tank in these runs, if that’s alright with you.”

“Yeah, whatever, but don’t dodge the question. What do you want the tomestones for?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“You’re asking me to spend hours of my precious time to run through a shitty dungeon from a decade ago, over and over, and you won’t even tell me why? That’s bullshit, Laegjarn.”

With a sigh, Laegjarn mumbled into her microphone.

“...Neckerchief”

“What?”

“I would like to buy the neckerchief.”

She could hear the clattering of Helbindi’s keyboard as he searched up the event rewards, followed by a deep guffaw.

“The doggy one? You wanna wear THIS?”

The image flashed in Laegjarn’s Discord window, but she was already intimately familiar with its contents. The Mameshiba Neckerchief carried no stat bonuses worthy of any note, nor did it unlock any game features.

It was, however, a green neckerchief with a clasp shaped like a tiny Shiba Inu head, and it was absolutely the most adorable thing Laegjarn had ever laid eyes on.

“What’s wrong with it?” she muttered, her face turning red.

“Nothing! Looks great! I’m sure the old lady living two doors down from me would love to put it on with her bunny slippers!” Helbindi’s laughter was renewed, growing in volume as Laegjarn rolled her eyes. “Hey, Laegjarn, it’s fine, it really is. I just didn’t know you were getting all soft and cuddly on me.”

“Are you quite finished?”

“Hang on, let me make a quick call. I wanna get my little sister’s opinion.” 

Laegjarn Muspelheim slaps Hell Bender!  
Laegjarn Muspelheim slaps Hell Bender!  
Laegjarn Muspelheim slaps Hell Bender!  
Pizza Greg slaps Hell Bender!  
Laegjarn Muspelheim slaps Hell Bender!

By the time Helbindi’s ribbing was complete, Laegjarn still hadn’t managed to find any takers to join them on their quest for tomestones. Aurum Vale was a 4-player activity, requiring a Tank to soak up the enemy damage, a Healer to keep them on their feet, and two DPS characters who could pump damage into the monsters lurking within the dungeon. Laegjarn was a very competent tank, having piloted her Gunbreaker through the most difficult content in FFXIV many times, and Helbindi had similar skills with his DPS Dragoon. Finding another DPS player with the game’s queue system would likely be very easy, considering how popular the role was, but Healers were a much rarer commodity. Still, many players enjoyed the role, and it typically would not have been an issue.

Aurum Vale, as always, created problems.

Widely regarded as the game’s worst dungeon, there was little appealing about the delve into an abandoned mine full of carnivorous plants and giant toads. From the damaging pools of acid that covered the dungeon’s first room, to the massive density of enemies within that could easily overwhelm a tank, to the ever-dreaded Coincounter himself, everyone had a least favorite part of the community’s least favorite dungeon. Likely that was why the tomestones were being offered as incentive to play it, like an anglerfish holding a light above its greedy maw.

Unfortunately, that light was Shiba shaped, and Laegjarn wanted to swim straight for it.

Laegjarn Muspelheim: Would any Healers like to join me in running Aurum Vale for tomestones? We’ll clear it quickly and efficiently!

Despite her pleas, no players seemed eager to take the plunge.

“Could we get Laevatein to do it? Doesn’t she have a Scholar?” Helbindi asked.

“She’s doing overtime tonight.” Laegjarn replied, glancing down at the photo of her little sister she kept prominently displayed at her computer desk.

“Again? Damn. Poor lady’s got a rough week.”

“I’d rather that than she be stuck at home with...well, you know.”

Helbindi went silent, and the mood of the conversation seemed to have abruptly changed.

“My apologies for bringing that up.” Laegjarn mumbled.

“Don’t start. You know I’ll listen.” 

The sudden appearance of pink text in her game’s chatbox pulled Laegjarn back to the virtual world. She’d received a private message.

Icequeen Gunnthra: hi!!!! you need a healer?

Laegjarn leaned forward, her hands returning to the keys. “I think I’ve got a taker here, Helbindi.”

Laegjarn Muspelheim: I do. Are you interested?  
Icequeen Gunnthra: sure!  
Icequeen Gunnthra: never done this dungeon though  
Icequeen Gunnthra: is that okay???  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: Not a problem. My friend and I will help you through.  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: Would you like to join us on Discord so we can explain over voice?  
Icequeen Gunnthra: okay!

As she gathered up a Discord link, Laegjarn raised her voice to be heard over the munching sounds from Helbindi. “Look sharp. I’m inviting them to the call.”

A few moments later, the familiar beeping sound came once more, and a new avatar appeared in the chat.

“Hello there!”

The voice was soft and somewhat quiet, almost soothing in a way.

“Heya.” Helbindi grunted.

“Hello, Icequeen.” Laegjarn cleared her throat. “If you’d like me to call you that?”

“Oh! Well, I prefer Gunnthra. That’s my name! In real life too, I mean.” She started to giggle. “I suppose creativity has never been my strong suit.”

“Understandable.” Laegjarn smiled. “I’m right there with you. I’m Laegjarn.”

“Helbindi. So, what’s your story, Gunnthra?”

“Hmmm.” Laegjarn could hear the faint tapping of a pen against a desk. “Well, I’m in my twenties, I love art and music and spending time with my family and friends, I have a cat named-”

This time it was Helbindi’s turn to cough into the mic. “Uh, yeah, cool. I meant in the game, though. You’re a healer, right?”

“Oh!” Gunnthra giggled again, and Laegjarn found herself unable to resist grinning at the sound. “Yes! Sorry. I just recently reached level 49 on my White Mage and unlocked the dungeon, so I thought this would be a great way to get to 50! Is that alright?”

“Yes, of course!” The words were out of Laegjarn’s mouth before she could even think about them, a sensation that felt both novel and slightly distressing. “Don’t worry, we’ll be glad to show you the ropes. And we’re also in our twenties. And I like...music as well.”

“Wonderful!” chirped Gunnthra, as a private message from Helbindi blinked into Laegjarn’s chatbox.

Hell Bender: she’s perky  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: Be nice.  
Hell Bender: of course

Laegjarn adjusted her headset and began navigating to the game’s Duty Finder window. “It shouldn’t take us long to find a DPS, so I’m ready to begin if the two of you are prepared.” Gunnthra’s cheerful acknowledgement was followed by a grunt of confirmation from Helbindi, and Laegjarn queued their party up for a trip into the Vale. The matchmaker found them a fourth player nearly instantly, and the oceanside scene of Limsa Lominsa faded away, giving way to an introductory cutscene that gave anyone who saw it a lump in the pit of their stomachs.

**COERTHAS**

**THE AURUM VALE**

As the camera swooped through the dungeon’s underground setting, showing off the luminescent yellow pools of acid and the plant-like Marlboros that nested within, Helbindi let out a sigh.

“Here we go. Time for the Piss Vale.”

“ _Helbindi._ ” Laegjarn scolded, but after a moment, Gunnthra began to laugh.

“Oh! I get it! Because it looks like there are pits of piss everywhere!” Her giggling only grew louder and more intense as she evidently thought that over. “Oh! That’s really good!”

Laegjarn sighed as she began moving her character through the opening tunnel. “I’m sorry about him.” Their group was off to a quick start. Laegjarn took the time to reangle her camera slightly, trying to get a clear view despite the hulking size of Helbindi’s armored Roegadyn. She’d received the occasional comment that it was odd to see her character, a somewhat diminutive female Au Ra, leading the charge and serving as the tank in a dungeon. She was more than happy to make up for the size difference with her massive Gunblade, Odune.

It was with some pleasure that she noted that Gunnthra, too, was playing an Au Ra, her character draped in the typical white robes of a healer of fairly low level. The pink of her character’s hair matched the color of her Discord avatar.

Their randomly assigned companion was a Hyur in full Black Mage artifact attire, wearing a mask that covered much of his face.

“Alright, here’s the first room. This one can be a little tricky.” Laegjarn stopped moving her character as she reached the precipice of the Vale’s first and most despised chamber, “The Trap”. A bevy of monsters patrolled the chamber, titanic toads splashing in the acid pools as twisting vines wriggled against the walls. “I’m going to hug the left wall, and I’ll need you to follow close behind me. If I time it right, we should be able to avoid the majority of the enemies in this room. Once we clear the chamber, you-”

“Uh-oh, Laeg.” Helbindi muttered. “Mage is pulling.”

To her horror, Laegjarn watched as a fireball blazed across the room and collided with the first toad, causing the creature to immediately begin hopping towards their party. Even more projectiles burst forth from the group’s black mage, who immediately beat a hasty retreat behind Laegjarn as the monsters surged forth in a horde.

“Gunnthra, just try and keep me up!” She ran forward into the group of foes, immediately using her AOE attack, Demon Slice, to get their attention. A bevy of warning beeps sounded as every monster the mage had attracted turned towards Laegjarn and began to strike at her. Quickly, she activated her defensive cooldowns, hoping the mitigation would be enough to allow Gunnthra to keep up with healing the damage.

“Ah, shit.” Helbindi muttered.

“Oh dear! Doing all I can!” Gunnthra added. 

The long swipes of Helbindi’s spear felled one of the floating jellyfish-like creatures that was attacking Laegjarn, and the occasional booms of Thunder III and Fire II marked the mage’s contribution to the battle. However, just as the enemies were beginning to fall, the mage bolted ahead of the group, running through the acid pools to gather the attention of the rest of the enemies.

“Oh no!” Gunnthra gasped. She followed close behind, trying desperately to heal the runaway DPS. Without the healer’s ministrations, Laegjarn noticed her health pool rapidly plummeting as the last of her defensive abilities flickered away.

“Guunthra, I need some Cure spells over here.” 

“Oh! Uh, sorry! I’m coming!”

As even more of the Vale’s beastly denizens surrounded her, Laegjarn was well aware of the inevitable conclusion to this particular encounter.

“It’s a wipe, everyone.”

As Laegjarn’s character fell, the monsters scattered and fell upon her allies, and the entire group found themselves reset to the beginning of the dungeon.

“I’m really sorry!” Gunnthra said, her pace quickening. “There were so many enemies, and the mage ran away, and-”

“It’s quite alright.” Laegjarn interjected. Deaths were, of course, not ideal in a farming group, but she wasn’t the type to get upset over someone’s mistake in a video game. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Shit happens.” grunted Helbindi. “That’s not on you either, our Black Mage just thinks he can aggro every mob from here to Ul’dah.”

Laegjarn Muspelheim: Please let me pull, if you please.  
Laegjarn Muspelheim: It should make the damage more manageable.  
Corvus Von Vestra: Perhaps you should try using your abilities and not dying.

“Oh great, a smart guy. Want me to tell him where he can shove his “abilities”?”

“Cool it, Helbindi.”

Icequeen Gunnthra: sorry X.X  
Icequeen Gunnthra: i’m new!!!  
Corvus Von Vestra: Clearly.

Laegjarn felt a rise in her gut. “Alright, Helbindi, let him have it.”

“No, please.” Gunnthra’s voice was quiet, but resolute. “I’ll just have to improve. I’d appreciate any advice you can give.”

“Well, don’t do it for the sake of someone so rude. But we’ll gladly give you some tips, though neither of us play Healer.”

Corvus Von Vestra: Go, please.

With a sigh, Laegjarn set off once more into The Trap. Once more, she took the far left path, engaging the first pair of enemies she encountered.

“Guunthra, when I get into combat, the first thing you should cast on me is Regen. It’s the most efficient healing spell in your arsenal.” The sudden glow around her character model and the green icon that appeared next to her health bar signaled that Gunnthra had swiftly obliged. “Now just focus on keeping me alive for now. If the mage runs off again, that’s his decision.”

Corvus, however, stayed put for this attempt, leaving many of the Trap’s denizens out of the fight. By the time Helbindi had felled the last of the attacking Nyx Toads, Laegjarn’s lifebar remained at a healthy percentage.

“Well done.” said Laegjarn. She could hear Gunnthra quietly chuckle to herself as she pressed onwards. “Keep that up, and we’ll make it through just fine.”

She was good on her word, and a few small pulls of enemies later, the group stood inside The Lock, staring down a massive flower-shaped creature. Two green tentacles emerged from the sides of the thing as it undulated in the acid pits, a marker above its head naming it “Locksmith”.

“First boss. People’s HP will go low on this one, so just don’t panic. He’ll stack a debuff on you, once it reaches 2 stacks, you want to eat one of the fruit around the arena. I like to stand next to one so the group knows which you’ll use.” Laegjarn raised her arms high in a stretch, taking advantage of the way a boss encounter made even their overeager mage willing to wait. “Ready?”

“Uh huh!” Gunnthra’s character began to jump up and down, Hell Bender joining her in short order.

As Laegjarn engaged the boss, she carefully positioned it in the middle of the room, where Helbindi could jab at its flanks without risking contact with the acid puddles. The familiar boss music beat against her eardrums as she tore into the giant ochu.

A light squeak alerted her to the fact that the boss had activated one of its abilities, painting an orange circle beneath Gunnthra’s feet.

“Just strafe out of it!” said Helbindi, and Laegjarn couldn’t totally explain why she felt disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to give the advice first.

Well, she could.

She just didn’t want to.

The boss fell without much further incident, much to Gunnthra’s delight. “Hooray!” she cheered, slightly more exuberantly than was likely necessary. Helbindi chuckled through a mouthful of food as the loot appeared.

“Any of this gear good for you, Gunnthra?” he asked.

“I’m afraid not, but I’m glad we overcame the challenge!”

Ugh, Laegjarn’s heart was _melting_. She’d known this woman for ten minutes and she already wanted to do something between squishing her cheeks and kissing her on them. She wasn’t usually like this, not _ever_ like this. Romance was the furthest thing from her mind, while the bills piled up on her kitchen counter and her sister’s situation became ever more volatile. Why was she getting a crush? Why was it intruding into Final Fantasy? 

_Why in the hell was it in Aurum Vale?_

Suddenly, Gunnthra gasped. “Oh my God!” For a moment, Laegjarn thought her inner monologue had been overheard, and the other woman would call her a creep and a weirdo and leave them and the Vale behind. That, however, wasn’t the case.

“What is that adorable little thing?”

Sitting in the loot window, next to two pieces of Ninja gear, was a familiar green blob. A gaping mouth and tentacles decorated the pet, known as the “Marlboro Seedling”.

“Adorable?” Helbindi scoffed. “It’s a weird gross plant thing.”

“I don’t care!” Gunnthra’s pitch had risen a solid octave. “It’s cute as hell!”

“Roll Need on it, then.” Laegjarn said. “Helbindi and I already have one.”

Icequeen Gunnthra rolls Need on the marlboro seedling. 90!  
Corvus Von Vestra rolls Need on the marlboro seedling. 96!  
Corvus Von Vestra obtains a marlboro seedling.

“Awww.” Gunnthra sighed, and the puddle that formerly made up Laegjarn’s heart somehow melted again. “Guess I’ll have to get one another time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure it’s a guaranteed drop. Right, Laeg?”

Laegjarn wracked her brain, only slightly distracted by the horde of bats and ghosts she found herself tanking. “Fairly certain it’s 100% from that chest.” To her pleasant surprise, Gunnthra was a very fast learner. She was already noticing far fewer spikes in damage as she held off the enemies in the corridors between The Lock and the second boss’s arena. Near the rear of the pack of foes, a massive tangle of vines and teeth stirred in the yellow dirt.

“Marlboro.” Laegjarn noted. “Gunnthra, I’m going to turn it away from the group. Don’t step in the cone when it casts Bad Breath. If it tags me, spam Esuna on me.”

As she expected, one of Corvus’ fireballs reached the Marlboro before she could establish threat. The botanical beast lumbered towards the group, its form lolling back as an orange cone appeared on the floor.

“Everybody out of it!” Laegjarn strafed out of the line of fire, noting that Gunnthra and Corvus were too far back to be at any risk. Helbindi, though, seemed to be unable to resist getting a few more points of melee damage on the creature, and was currently locked in a Jump animation.

“Ah, shit.”

A rainbow of debuff icons flashed above Hell Bender’s health display as he was caught in a torrent of the Marlboro’s Bad Breath. 

“Don’t worry! I’ve got you!”

A Regen fell upon Laegjarn as she watched the icons beginning to disappear one by one, thanks to Gunnthra’s ministrations on Helbindi. She activated her own defensive abilities to make up for her healer’s attention being drawn away, pleased to note how easily she was surviving the monsters’ assault. The remainder of the Banded Lid went without incident, but that was all mere prologue, as veterans of the Vale well knew.

The familiar purple line that marked a boss arena marked out the location of the deadliest trial the dungeon had to offer. This line marked the end of countless groups, players who had entered unprepared and met an unceremonious end, time and time again. This was a crucible, stoked in the fires of angry shouts and exasperated sighs, where the world stopped turning, but for a moment, and all that existed was the towering cyclops ahead. Laegjarn, of course, didn’t have time to tell Gunnthra all that, so she gave her the short version.

“This is Coincounter. He’s an asshole and he’ll kill you.”

“Got it.”

Predictably, Corvus attracted the boss’s attention, and the battle was on.

The battle lasted two minutes before the cyclops crushed Gunnthra with his club.

The second battle was shorter, as Laegjarn reached up to scratch her nose and got slapped by a Glare paralyse into a Swing.

The third try fell apart towards the end, with Laegjarn almost able to outlast the boss even without a fallen Gunnthra’s healing, but lacking the damage to close out the battle without Corvus and Helbindi.

“Alright.” Laegjarn began, shortly before the fourth try. “I’ll run it all down one more time. Stay behind Coincounter, as far away as you can, but if you need to go in, remember the difference between a swing and a swipe. 100-Tonze Swipe is a cone directed towards the tank. 100-Tonze Swing is a giant swing all around him. Those will both kill you.”

“Y’know, why isn’t it 100-Tonze _Swinge_?” Helbindi’s voice was tinged with equal bits exhaustion and loopiness.

“...Why would it be?” 

“They spell it _Swinge_ elsewhere! I thought it was part of the aesthetic!”

“It would make sense as part of the aesthetic…” Gunnthra mumbled.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Laegjarn sighed. “It...would. There’s also Glare, it...shoots a big laser in the direction he’s looking, just...slide out of the way please. Let’s give this another go.”

Once more, the familiar boss theme blared, and Laegjarn slipped back into her skill rotation, keeping the massive beast’s attention as her allies battered the creature’s back. Suddenly, Coincounter’s assault halted as it raised its club.

“Swing! Back up, Laegjarn!” Gunnthra cried. She followed the instructions, backpedaling before the monster’s attack could finish its casting, leaving the club to swing wide through open air. Laegjarn was back inside its hitbox before her Brutal Shell combo even dropped, smiling at the intact health bars of her allies. 

“Great work, everyone. Just 80% more to go.” They weren’t quite out of the woods yet, as was made evident when the Coincounter whirled towards their backline, his castbar indicating an incoming Glare. Gunnthra and Helbindi swept out of the way, but Corvus, committed to his cast of Fire II, took the paralyzing beam directly in the chest.

“I’ve got him.” Gunnthra quickly cast Esuna on the paralyzed mage, negating the status effect before topping him off with a Cure. They’d stumbled, but stabilized, and the creature’s health was beginning to seriously dwindle. Emitting a guttural roar, the cyclops held its club aloft again, drawing Laegjarn’s eyes to the castbar.

100-Tonze Swipe. Wait, was that Swinge? No. That wasn’t a thing. 

With slightly more trepidation than she liked, Laegjarn sidestepped the attack, and soon after, the Coincounter fell. Helbindi let out a sigh of relief as Gunnthra cheered, and she couldn’t help but crack a smile herself.

“You’re so good at this, Laegjarn! You’ve got to teach me more sometime!”

The thought of spending more time with Gunnthra, admittedly, changed the smile into a blush.

The remainder of the dungeon, as was typical for Aurum Vale, was mostly simply a victory lap. Some threats remained in the depths of the caves, malevolent spirits and a garden of Marlboros, but for a group that had successfully conquered The Trap and Coincounter, they served as little challenge. Even the final boss, Miser’s Mistress, was mostly simply a rehash of Locksmith.

Normally this stretch of the instance bored Laegjarn, but as the conversation shifted from game advice to simple chatting, she found herself pleased with the opportunity to learn more about Gunnthra. Evidently she was a nurse, and had a younger sister who had recently moved out of state. She’d taken up FFXIV as a way to spend time with her, a motivation Laegjarn found extremely relatable.

By the time Miser’s Mistress had wilted back into the earth and the victory fanfare played, it had been a much longer Aurum Vale run than was typical, but certainly far more enjoyable for Laegjarn. Helbindi, perhaps, didn’t agree, given his complaints when they reappeared in Limsa Lominsa.

“Three Tomestones? Laeg, you want a hundred of them, and the whole dungeon gives THREE?” The volume and pitch of Helbindi’s groan called to mind an earthquake. “Do you want that neckerchief THAT badly?”

“Good things come to those with patience.” She folded her arms, even though she knew he was completely unable to see it. “Do you need a restroom break before we queue up again?”

Her friend sputtered angrily before the sound of frustrated munching returned to dominate his mic. 

“Gunnthra, would you like to join us for a few more runs of the dungeon?”

“If you’ll have me! I’m sure I slowed you down a bit last time, that second boss took me so long to work out.”

“It’s a pain for everyone the first couple times.” Laegjarn reassured. “Don’t worry. We’d love to have you.” With a grin, she queued the group for Aurum Vale once again.

“You didn’t ask me.” Helbindi grumped.

“I figured you were too busy munching on chips to pay much attention.”

“Yeah, yeah, haha. By the way, they’re celery sticks. Menja made them for me. Delicious as hell.”

With another fade, they had returned.

**COERTHAS**

**THE AURUM VALE**

After two more hours, and four more Aurum Vales, Helbindi finally broke.

“Alright, that’s it. It’s getting late, I’m hungry, and I never want to see another freakin’ Nyx Toad as long as I freakin’ live.”

“Tapping out, then?” Gunnthra asked. “Lame!”

“I liked you better when you didn’t know what Regen was.” Helbindi grumbled, his snark doing little to hide that he was holding back a laugh. “Afraid you two are on your own for now. Have a good night, or whatever.”

Laegjarn Muspelheim waves to Hell Bender!  
Icequeen Gunnthra waves to Hell Bender!  
Icequeen Gunnthra waves to Hell Bender!  
Laegjarn Muspelheim waves to Hell Bender!  
Hell Bender plays dead.

“Alright then! Let’s-” Gunnthra’s cheerful tone was cut off as it dissolved into a lengthy yawn. “Oh my. Sorry about that.”

Suddenly, the fact that the sun had long since disappeared occurred to Laegjarn, fatigue setting into her weary shoulders. “Gunnthra, if you’re tired, you can go to bed. No need to keep yourself awake for my sake.”

She, of course, would gladly stay up longer talking to Gunnthra, but she didn’t want to come on too strong, or disrespect the other woman’s time.

“Aww. But your Tomestones!”

“I have weeks to get those. You’ve been more than enough help, trust me. I can handle the rest”

“Oh!” Gunnthra coughed. “Well, um, I suppose this...is goodbye, then?”

Suddenly, Laegjarn realized what she’d said, along with the slight possibility that perhaps someone else was avoiding coming on too strong at the same time. “Well, no, not if you don’t want it to be! We can certainly do more Vale together later! Or, well, anything. In Final Fantasy. Or...other games? Other places?”

She could feel years of dignity sloughing away, but it felt worth it. Thankfully, Gunnthra didn’t sound like she was faring any better.

“Oh! Yeah! We could! I’d love to! You seem like someone I want to spend a lot of time with! I-uh, mean, if you want to, of course! In Final Fantasy! Or elsewhere?”

Feeling the heat on her face, Laegjarn decided a tactical retreat to regroup was in order. “Right. Well, if you’re free after work tomorrow, I will be. Maybe we can do a few dungeons together?”

“I get done at 6:00! Oh, uh, 6:00 Eastern. I live in Zenith.”

“No way! I do too! So that’s...that’s cool.”

“Yeah! But I think we should both get some sleep. Will I see you tomorrow, Laegjarn?”

“You will. See you then, Gunnthra.”

“Goodnight!”

As Gunnthra’s profile picture faded away from the call, Laegjarn stretched, yawned, and glanced back at FFXIV.

Icequeen Gunnthra: i had a fantastic time tonight  
Icequeen Gunnthra: sleep tight, laegjarn!!!  
Icequeen Gunnthra dotes on Laegjarn Muspelheim!  
Icequeen Gunnthra waves to Laegjarn Muspelheim!

Suddenly, she was very much looking forward to running more Aurum Vale.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks very much for reading this one-paragraph joke that ballooned utterly and violently out of control, sending me careening out of my own window and into the bushes below as it expanded.
> 
> Special thanks go to the wonderful Remi for not putting a stop to my Bullshit immediately when she learned I was writing this for real.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated! This was an interesting challenge to write, given the limitations of a setting where the characters are...mostly just sitting around and playing video games! I have mixed feelings on the end product, but I'd love to hear yours.
> 
> Super Secret Author's Notes:  
> \- from the creator of the Magic The Gathering Ripoff AU...it's "A Fic So Niche It Had A Target Audience of Two!"  
> \- I know people don't actually say "LFM (looking for members)" in FFXIV, but pretend Laeg is trying to bring it back.  
> \- I main White Mage but I had to look up the Gunbreaker ability names for this.  
> \- Laegjarn and Gunnthrá are playing Au Ra because both of them are connected to mythical dragons in canon. Helbindi's playing a Roegadyn because those guys are swole and so is he (and also Menja likes to watch the dance)  
> -Hubert gets a cameo because the inherent humor of Hubert von Vestra is powerful.  
> \- the secret of who pizza greg is will go with me to my grave


End file.
